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Starting 1 January 2019, a concert of André Rieu and his Johann Strauss orchestra recorded at the end of the year in Sydney will be broadcast in nearly 100 cinemas thanks to nazywowkinach.pl.

The popular violinist André Rieu is returning to cinemas around the world to present a special carnival concert, registered in Sydney Town Hall. The programme of the evening includes Christmas carols, pieces of classical and film music, as well as truly carnival hits from operettas and Viennese waltzes. The concert will feature sopranos and tenors cooperating with André and other special guests. As usual, viewers will have the opportunity to look behind the scenesa and absorbe the atmosphere of the event in Sydney.

The list of places in Poland where you can watch the broadcast is available here.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

On January 13, 2019 at 6:00 p.m., the works of Franciszek Araszkiewicz and Michał Pawełek will be performed in the headquarters of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice.

The New Music Orchestra, known for its fondness for avant-garde music, new experiences and experiments, will perform unconventional works during the event entitled "Concert for tables, brain waves and electronics (in a box). In addition to the unique aural sensations, we will be able to admire graphics Diabolus in musica by Ewa Synowiec and a graph of the conductor's brain waves that will be displayed during the performance of the selected compositions.

In the interpretation of the New Music Orchestra under the baton of Szymon Bywalec, we will hear Thierry De Mey's piece with the unusual instrumentation – Musique de table for 3 drummers and tables. The programme will also include the experimental Innerealization for chamber orchestra and electronics controlled by brain waves and electromagnetic fields composed by Franciszek Araszkiewicz. The evening will end with the performance of Simeia for chamber orchestra and electronics by Michał Pawełek.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Information on tickets at: http://www.nospr.org.pl/pl/koncerty/1397/orkiestra-muzyki-nowej-koncert-na-stoy-fale-mozgowe-i-elektronike-w-pudeku 

Francesco Cilèi's Adriana Lecouvreur in a new staging by Sir David McVicar will be broadcast from The Metropolitan Opera to cinemas on January 12, 2019. The main roles will be performed by Piotr Beczała and Anna Netrebko. The Warsaw Cinema Praha invites you to broadcast at 6.35 p.m.

Adriana Lecouvreur occupies a unique place in the repertory: largely dismissed by experts from its premiere in 1902 to the present day yet cherished by its fans for the dramatic possibilities provided by the lead roles. The opera is a deft combination of frank emotionalism and flowing lyricism, with pseudo-historical spectacle. Based on a play by Eugène Scribe, the story was inspired by the real-life intrigues of famed actress Adrienne Lecouvreur and the legendary soldier—and lover—Maurice of Saxony. Cilea's operatic retelling quickly became a favorite of charismatic soloists. The title character in particular is a quintessential diva role.

The score of Adriana Lecouvreur relies on elegance and a deft weaving of themes rather than symphonic grandeur. There are nods to a neo-Rococo style, especially in Act III’s dance sequences, but generally the score serves to showcase the singers. Lyricism abounds in the solos, particularly in the tenor’s “La dolcissima effigie” in Act I and Adriana’s Act I aria “Io son l’umile ancella,” whose arching line and theme of the singer as “the humble handmaiden of the creative genius” have made it a soprano anthem of sorts.

The list of places in Poland where you can watch broadcasts from Met is available here.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information at: http://www.kinopraha.pl

Jerzy Semkow Polish Orchestra Sinfonia Iuventus under the direction of Marek Wroniszewski will perform the works of Bacewicz, Szymanowski, Różycki and Karłowicz on January 19, 2019 at 7.00 p.m. at the Witold Lutosławski Polish Radio Concert Studio in Warsaw. Piotr Pławner will perform as a soloist.

The favourite theme of Polish music criticism at the turn of the 19th and 20th century was the search for “influences of Wagner and Strauss” in Polish music – which was both praise and reprimand, depending on the preferences of the critic; these comparisons were often completely misguided, but in the case of Ludomir Różycki and Mieczysław Karłowicz, they were justified. Both great Polish Neo-Romantics owed much especially to the colourful style of Richard Strauss and his concept of “programme music” realised in brilliant symphonic poems. Różycki’s symphonic scherzo Stańczyk from 1900 refers to Matejko’s famous painting and the history of the royal jester (with the motif of a krakowiak introducing the Krakow milieu), and the contrasting, vividly instrumented poem allegorically outlines the idyllic and dramatic episodes of national history, seen through the prism of the philosophical jokes of this legendary character. Mieczysław Karłowicz’s Eternal Songs are one of the most personal compositional statements of the prematurely deceased Polish Neo-Romantic, a testimony to the enormous scale and originality of his talent.

Karol Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1 (dedicated to Paweł Kochański) was written in Zarudzie in the Eastern Borderlands during World War I. The brilliant work stands as the creative apogee of this period and still inspires admiration with its original form and texture, subtlety of sound, and an unusual oneiric aura. All these advantages will be revealed by the performance of the excellent violinist Piotr Pławner, winner of the 10th International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition, today one of the leading Polish violinists. Motoric, full of energy, sparking with spectacular sounds, Grażyna Bacewicz’s Overture for Symphonic Orchestra was created during the difficult time of German occupation, and its premiere took place during one of the first major post-war music events – the Festival of Polish Contemporary Music in Krakow – under the baton of Mieczysław Mierzejewski.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information at: www.sinfoniaiuventus.pl 

Dazzling La Bayadere with music by Leon Minkus and libretto after Marius Petipa in HD LIVE broadcast from the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre on Sunday, January 20th, 2019. At the Warsaw Cinema "Praha", you can watch at 4.00 p.m.

La Bayadere is one of the greatest works in classical ballet history – a story of love, death and vengeful judgement set in India. Dazzling sets, costumes, and one of the most iconic scenes in ballet, the “Kingdom of the Shades,” illuminate the tragic tale of the temple dancer Nikiya’s doomed love for the warrior Solor, and their ulimate redemption.

List of places in Poland, where you can watch broadcasts from the Bolshoi Theater, is available here.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information at: http://www.kinopraha.pl

On February 11, 2019 at 7.00 p.m., the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw will host a concert of the Chamber String Orchestra of the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań under the direction of Marcin Suszycki.

The programme of the concert will include works of Polish composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as Romanian folk dances BB 68, Sz. 56 by Béla Bartók. The evening will start with Poznań Poem, commissioned by the Poznań ensemble from Alina Kubik, a composer associated with the Wrocław Academy of Music. Concerto for accordion and string orchestra by Marcin Błażewicz will be performed by the Rector of FCUM Klaudiusz Baran, to whom the work was dedicated in 2012. The concert will end with Serenade for strings by Mieczysław Karłowicz, written during the composer's stay in Berlin in 1897 and inspired by Robert Volksmann's popular string serenades.

Free tickets available two weeks prior the concert at the University's main hall from Monday to Wednesday and on Friday from 4.00 to 7.00 p.m.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

A concert of the Elbląg Chamber Orchestra and Janusz Wawrowski will take place on February 17, 2019 in the Concert Hall of the State Music Schools Complex in Elbląg.

The programme of the evening will include Concerto for two violins in D minor, BWV 1043 – one of the greatest masterpieces of Johann Sebastian Bach, Concertino for violin and string orchestra, Op. 42 by Mieczysław Weinberg, as well as works by Antonio Vivaldi, Edward Grieg and Romuald Twardowski. Janusz Wawrowski will perform as a soloist and conductor. During the concert, the laureate of "Fryderyk" award will play on the first Stradivarius in Poland after the Second World War, remembering the times of King Jan Sobieski. Despite its centuries-old history, the violin remains in excellent condition. Paula Preuss will join the Elbląg chamber musicians musicians as a soloist. The concert will be led by Jarosław Praszczałek.

The event is held under the patronage of the PWM Edition as part of the TUTTI.pl project, promoting performances of Polish music.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Detailed programme available at: http://www.eok.elblag.eu/pl/news/klasyka-spod-stradivariusa-plynaca 

The 14th Polish Christmas Carols Competition – the largest choir festival of carols in the country – took place on January 19, 2019 in Chełmno.

After the auditions and discussion, the committee composed of: Joanna Łukaszewska, Michalina Spychalska, Izabela Łuckiewicz and prof. dr hab. Andrzej Ryłko, the chairman of the jury, decided to award the following prizes and distinctions.

The Grand Prix and the cash prize of PLN 2,000 went to the Cantus Vocal Ensemble from Leszno directed by Tomasz Sowiński!

The Golden Bands were awarded to: Chamber Choir Piu Mosso from Wrocław (conducted by Dominik Jarocki), Choir of the Jan III Sobieski LXXV High School  in Warsaw (conducted by Liliana Bach), Chamber Choir Endorfina from Warsaw (conducted by Michał Rajewski), Vocal Ensemble Omnis Mea from Warsaw (conducted by Michał Rajewski, Edyta Sędzik), Vocal Ensemble Modo Maiorum from Warsaw (conducted by Michał Straszewski) and the Echo Choir from Łódź (conducted by Ewelina Bień). 

The choirs Harmonia Sphaerarum from Gniew, Laudate Dominum from Wejherowo and Canto Alegre from Łódź received the Silver Bands and bonuses. Bronze Bands and valuable prizes were given to the the choirs: Sonore from Kleszczów, Lutnia from Więcbork, Cantate Domino from Malbork, Lutnia from Czersk, Lutnia from Luzina and Chawera from Swarzędz.

The jury also awarded several special prizes: for the Best Conductor to Dominik Jarocki  – a cup funded by the Artistic Director of the Michał Rajewski Competition; for the best performance of the Lulajże Jezuniu carol to Modo Maiorum Vocal Ensemble from Warsaw; for cultivating the Kashubian language to Choir Lutnia from Luzina; and for the sound qualities to the Piu Mosso Chamber Choir from Wrocław.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

A concert on the 25th death anniversary of Witold Lutosławski and the 110th death anniversary of Mieczysław Karłowicz will take place in the headquarters of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice on February 7, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.

The Orchestra under the baton of Antoni Wit will perform three works by the mentioned composers. Novelette (1980) by Witold Lutosławski, written for Mścisław Rostropowicz, then head of the Washington National Symphony Orchestra, refers to Robert Schumann's piano cycle of the same (almost) title. Piano concerto (1988), dedicated to Krystian Zimerman, belongs to the last phase of Lutosławski's work, in which he drew more and more from romantic music – hence the reminiscences of Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, Rachmaninov, as well as Ravel and Bartók. Louis Lortie will perform as a soloist. The concert will end with Symphony in E minor "Rebirth" (1902) by Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876-1909). Despite the perceptible influences of Tchaikovsky and Wagner, this work presents already crystallized foundations of the Young Poland's aesthetics: programme, pantheism, dark orchestral colorus.

The concert was produced under the patronage of PWM Edition as part of the project TUTTI.pl promoting the performance of Polish music.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information at: http://www.nospr.org.pl/pl/koncerty/1221/nospr-antoni-wit-louis-lortie